By Elizabeth Sykes

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported nearly 300 kidnappings of women and children in Haiti in the first half of 2023, close to last year’s total, reports Al Jazeera.

“The stories we are hearing from UNICEF colleagues and partners on the ground are shocking and unacceptable,” said Garry Conille, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Women and children are not commodities. They are not bargaining chips…The growing trend in kidnappings and abductions is extremely worrisome, threatening both the people of Haiti and those who have come to help.”

More than 1,000 people have been taken hostage for ransom in Haiti in total, reports CNN. In many cases, women and children are taken forcefully by armed groups and used for financial manipulation and blackmail.

Gang violence has been rising in Haiti and Port-au-Prince since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, said the United Nations.

The UN has said since that armed gangs control most of Port-au-Prince, catastrophically increasing murder, kidnapping and sexual violence rates.

American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped in Haiti on 27 July, but have since been freed, according to the Christian charity El Roi Haiti, Dorsainvil’s place of work, said the BBC.

In relation to the kidnapping, the US State Department ordered many government personnel and embassy officials’ families to leave Haiti, saying that the abduction of US citizens is “widespread.”

Along with gang violence, reports show that Haitian healthcare systems are failing because of an outbreak of cholera and intense food shortages, said the UN.

UNICEF has called for the immediate release and return of those that have been kidnapped in Haiti.

“The increase in violence, looting, road blockades, and the pervasive presence of armed groups severely obstruct humanitarian efforts, making it difficult to deliver much-needed aid to affected communities. As months go by, it adds an increasing layer of fear and complexity to an already challenging environment for those delivering life-saving aid.”

Late last year, Haiti’s prime minister Ariel Henry appealed to the UN for an international armed force to be deployed to Haiti “to restore order and quell the violence,” said Al Jazeera.

The appeal was backed by the UN and the United States, but was not supported by some in the Haitian population because of past issues with foreign interference.

Almost six months later and ever-increasing violence, Kenya has said it is willing to lead a multinational force in the country, and the Haitian government has welcomed the statement, along with the U.S, the UN, and Canada.

According to The Guardian, Kenya pledged to “deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” The move has increased concerns from some humanitarian groups, based on the Kenyan police force’s failing human rights record during COVID-19 and riots in their own country. Concerns of sexual violence and cholera in Haiti also pervade.

The move from Kenya to lead a multinational effort in Haiti is an important step, and may be imperative to neutralize gang violence and kidnappings in Port-any-Prince. However, Kenyan efforts to help Haiti may cause larger issues for the Haitian people, involving sexual violence and assault. With a crumbling health care system and widespread malnutrition, the quelling of violence from the Kenyan and international police force is a vital issue, but should not bring violence and terrorism to Haiti in its own right. Haiti’s humanitarian issues must be solved, and Kenya’s impact will be a vital first step for peace to be brought to Haiti’s women and children.